Stoker mechanism



Oct. 8, 1929. LOWER ET AL 7 1,730,616

STOKER MECHANI SM Filed Feb. 26, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ii fnyewzons,

Oct. 8, 1929.

N. M. Low'ERrr AL STOKER MECHANISM Filed Feb'. 26, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2L l .J

Oct. 8, 1929. N. M. LOWER ET AL STOKER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet FiledFeb. 26, 1926 [2? m n-60m W xy/flower,-

O h 1929- V N. M. LOWER ET AL I 1,730,616

' STOKER'MECHANISM Filed Feb. 26, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 8, 1929. N.M. LOWER ET AL STOKER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb. 26. 1926 invan 60215. afmu/Ziawe W/yIZZ/ C L Patented Oct. 8,

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NATHAN m. LOWER AND PAUL A. KETCHPEL, orrrrrsnuncrr, PENNSYLVANIA, As-

SIGNORS, ,BY ,MESNE AssrGNME rs, 'ro THE STANDARD s'roxnn COMPANY IN(:.,or NEW YORK, Y., .A CORPORATION or DELAWA E STOKER MECHANISM Applicationfi led 'ttebruary 26,1926, Serial 110.. 90,717.

This invention relates to stokers, and more particularly to mechanicalstokers and means for controlling the operation of the same.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmeans for controlling the relative amounts of fuel delivered todifferent portions of the firebox.

Another-object of the invention is the PI'O". vision of a reciprocatingelevator with new 1 and improved mechanism for selectively deliveringfuel to said elevator at each cycle or each alternate cycle of movementof the elevator as may be desired.

A further object of, the invention is the provision of new and improvedstoker mechanism that is simple in construction, efficient in operation,cheap in manufacture,

easily assembled, and that is not likely to become broken or get out oforder. p

Other and further'objects and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which I Fig.1 is a side elevation of a portion of thestoker mechanism, with parts in section and parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of a stoker showing the backhead ofthe locomotive in section, with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is]. a rear elevation of a portion of the vane'operatingmechanism; 7

Fig. 5 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the clutch mechanism;I

Fig. 6 is a; section on line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side elevation ofa portion of the stoker, showing a portion of the back head of alocomotive in section, with parts broken away; I

.Fig. 8 is a developed view of the radial flanges of the clutchmechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical section of the gear and y journal of one of thefuel delivery vanes.

On the drawings the reference character 10 designates the backhead of alocomotive provided with an opening 11 therein, through which fuel issupplied to the firebox 12 by means of the improved stoker 13,

located at the rear of the backhead.

Y The stok'er 13 comprises a casing 14 in which a plunger 15 is adaptedto reciprocate, suitable guides being provided for the plunger. Theupper end of the casing has a rearward extension 16 forming an enlargedreceptacle or chamber 17. A distributor plate 20 of any approvedconstruction is located over the recess or chamber 17 and has anextension 18 extending through the opening 11 in the backhead 10 of. thelocomotive.

Suitable means are provided for operating the plunger 15. As shown, itis operated from the power shaft 19 through a worm 22, gear 23 fast onthe shaft 24, gears 25 and 26, the latter being fast on the shaft 28, acrank arm 29 rigidly secured to the shaft 28, and a link 31 connected tosaid crank arm 29 and to the plunger 15 as at 32. The power shaft 19 isoperated in the usual manner by an engine on the side of the stokerremote from the fly wheel 21.

The lengths of the crank arm 29 and link 31 are'such that when theplunger 15 is in its lowermost position the upper surface thereof formsa portion of thebottom wall of the chamber 17. When the plunger is inits uppermost position it extends through a suitable opening 33 in thedistributor plate" 20 with its upper surface flush with the uppersurface of the distributor late. The distributor plate may be provi edwith walls 34 for forming a receptacle for receiving fuel elevated bythe plunger 15.

Suitable means, as the swinging vanes 35 and 36 are provided forprojecting the fuel from the distributor plate or member into thefirebox. As shown, the vanes are mounted on the shafts 37 upon the lowerends of which gears 38 are secured. The ears are adapted to beoscillated by the toothed quadrants 39 on the upper ends of the arms 41.The arms 41 are pivoted as at 42 and their lower ends are providedwithstuds 43 that are adapted to engage the cam way 44 on the cam member ofthe gears and 26, causing the shaft 28 to rotate twice as fast as theshaft 24. Furthermore, the cam way is so arranged that .the vanes willbe moved forwardly at the time the plunger 15 is flush with thedistribu-- tor plate. The plunger and vanes operate continuously intimed relation during the operation of the stoker.

' Fuel isdelivered to the chamber 17above the plunger through a suitableconveyor comprising the transfer conduit or casing 46 in which isrotatably mounted the screw 47. The conduit 16 is flexibly connected tothe elevator casing as by means of a ball and socket joint 48 which willpermit angularmovement of said conduit relatively to the elevatorcasing. The fuel transfer screw 47 may be operated in any suitablemanner, as by means of the shaft 19 geared to the power shaft 19. Itsoperation is continuous and uniform during the operation of thestoker,thereby causing a continuous stream of fuel to be delivered to thechamber 17.

In the stoking of locomotive and other power plants, it is oftennecessary to trim the fire at one side of the box to the exclusion ofthe other. Suitable means are accordingly provided for selectivelytrimming the fire at either side of the firebox at the will of thefireman or stoker operator.

In the form of the device selected to illustrate one embodiment of theinvention, means are provided for interrupting the flow of fuel to theplunger whereby either one or the other of the vanes will not beprovided with fuel, as may be desired. This is accomplished by means ofa gate or sliding member 51 which may be caused to reciprocate in timedrelation to the operation of'the elevator, and at one half of the speed.Since the vanes operate alternately, and continuously at regularintervals, by stopping the flow of fuel to either vane, the other vanewill have twice its normal load to distribute, thereby trimming the fireat that side of the firebox. In the present construction, suitable meansare provided for operating the gate 51 to obstruct the flow of fuel toeither the right or the left vane when it is desired to trim the fire aone side or the other.

The gate 51 is slidably mounted in guideways 50 and is operated by theshaft- 52 through the crank 53 and link 54. i The shaft 52 is operatedfrom the shaft 24 as by means of the chain drive 55. The sprocket wheels56 and 57-on the shafts 24 and 52 respectively being of the samediameter, the .two shafts will rotate at the same speed, and since theshaft 2 1 rotates at oniy one-half the speed of the shaft 28, when theshaft 52 operates it will cause the gate 51 to operate at one half thespeed of the elevator.

The means for controlling the operation of the gate for selectivelypreventing fuel from being delivered to the right or the left vane, willnow. be described. The sprocket wheel 57 is rotatably mounted onthesleeve 58 which in turn is keyed. to and slidably mounted on thecrankshaft 52. If desired, a bushing 60 may be secured in the sprocketwheel 57 for loosely engaging the sleeve 58.v

Manually controlled clutch mechanism is employed for clutching the shaft52 to the sprocket wheel 57 for operating said shaft or for moving theclutch to neutral position.

As shown, the outer end of the sleeve 58 is be operated to prevent thedelivery of fuel to 7 one of the vanes during its forward movement, andwhen the tooth 64 engages the recess 65 on the opposite side of thesprocket wheel 57 the gate 51 will be elevated to prevent the deliveryof fuel to the other vane during its forward swinging movement.

Means are provided for shifting the sleeve 58 for engaging anddisengaging the clutch mechanism. The clutch mechanism is operated bymeans of a shifting bar 66 slidably mounted in suitable bearings 67 andprovided at its inner end with a yoke 68 which is adapted to engage inthe groove 70 in the disk 63. The shifting bar 66 is operated by a pullrod or bar 69 through a bell crank lever 71 pivotally attached to saidbar. The upper end of the pull rod 69 is provided with a slot 72 havingseats 73 therein for receiving a bolt 74 for holding the rod in adjustedposition. The bolt 74: may be provided with a wing nut 75 for clampingthe rod for preventing its accidental disengagement from said bolt.

In order that when the clutch is disengaged the gate 51 may not be leftin elevated or partially elevated position, suitable means are providedfor preventing operation of the clutch except when the gate is in itsretracted position.

As shown, the sprocket gear 57 is provided with a hub 76 on the perihery of which are the radial flanges 77 and 8 (see Figs. 1 and 8). Theflange 7 7 ,is provided with a cut-out portion or opening 7 9 and theflange 78 is provided with a cut-out portion or opening 81 located 180from the opening 79. The shifting bar 66 is provided at its outer endwith a radial extension or timer lug 82 which is adapted to pass throughthe opening 79 clutch mechanism is in neutral and the gate 51 in loweredposition.

"When the timer lug 82 has moved outwardly through the opening 79, theclutch will be in the position shown in Fig. 1, and

v the gate 51 will operate to prevent delivery of fuel to theleft vaneduring its operation. If the timer lug 82 be moved inwardly through theopenings 7 9 and 81the tooth 64 will become engaged and the gate 51 willbe operated to prevent'the delivery of fuel to the right vane'during itsoperation.

l/Vhen it is desired to shift the clutch, the wing nut 75-is releasedand the bar 69 raised or lowered to adjusted position; I

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings that the construction and operation of our devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that various changesinsize, shape, proportion and details of construction may be made withoutdepartingfrom the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention: 1. In a stoker, a distributor plate,a'plunger for delivering fuel to said plate, means for operating saidplunger, a chamber traversed by said plunger, means for delivering astream of fuel to said chamber, means for interrupting the flow of fuelto said chamber during alternate reciprocation only of said plunger, andmeans adapted to distribute said fuel over the grates of a fire box.

2. In a stoker, a distributor plate, aplunger for delivering fuelgtosaid plate, swinging vanes for projecting the fuel from said'plate,means for delivering a stream of fuel above said plunger while inlowered position, and means operating in timed relation to said vanesfor interrupting the flow of said stream. 3. In a 'stoker, a distributorplate, a pair of swingin vanes for throwing fuel from-said plate, an eevator forsupplying fuel to said plate, means for causing a stream offuel to flow above said elevator, and manually con trolled means forintercepting the flow of said stream. v

4. In a; stoker, a reciprocating elevator, a transfer screw fordelivering a continuous stream of fuel to the space traversed by saidelevator, manually controlled means for interrupting the flow of saidstream at each alternate reciprocation of said elevator to theexclusion-of the other, and means for distributing said fuel over thegrates of a fire box.

5. In a stoker, a casing having an enlarged chamber in its upperportion, a plunger in said casing, means for supplying a stream of fuelto said chamber manually controlled means for interrupting the flow of.said

stream at each alternate cycle only in the op- I eration of saidplunger, and means for proj ecting said fuel forwardly at each upwardreciprocation of said plunger.

6. In combination, a firebox, a distributor member associated therewith,an elevator for delivering fuel to said member, a pair of swinging vanesfor projecting the fuel from said member into said firebox, a chamberabove sald elevator, means for dehvermg a stream of'fuel to saidchamber, and means for interrupting the stream of fuel in timed relationto the swinging of one of'said vanes.

7. In a stoker, a fuel chamber, means for supplying a stream of fuelto-said chamber, a gate for-,interrupting'the flow of said stream tosaid chamber, mechanism including a clutch'for operating said gate, andmeans for preventing the disengagement of said clutch except whensaidgate is in its inoperative position.

8. In a stoker, a fuel elevator, a fuel conveyor for delivering fueltoysa id elevator, a

movable gate, means including a clutch for operating said gate toprevent the delivery of'fuel to said elevator by said conveyor, and

means for preventing the operation of saidclutch except when saidelevator is in a predeterminedposition in its cycle of operation.

9. In combination, a firebox of a boiler having an opening in its backwall, a fixed distributor plate extending into said opening, a pair offuel projecting means for projecting fuel from. said plate alternatelyto opposite sides of said firebox, mechanism for supplying fuel to saidmeans, and manually controlled means for intercepting-the supply of fuelto either of said projecting means tothe I exclusion of the other.

.10. Ina stoker, afixed distributor plate, a pair of fuel distributingmembers for projecting fuel from said plate, means for alternatelyoperating said members, means for automatically supplying fuel on saidplate for each of said members, and manually controlled means forintercepting the supply of fuel to said plate for either of said membersto the exclusion of the other.

11. In combination, a distributor member, an elevator for deliveringfuel to said distributor member, means for operating said elevator, acasing traversed by said elevator,

means for delivering a'fiow of fuel to said casing, means formtermittently nterrupt ing the flowof fuel to said casing and means formanually controlling the operation of said last named means.

tures.

NATHAN M. LOWER. PAUL A. KETGHPEL.

In testimony whereof We aflix our sigma--

